noun
triad
TREYE-ad
noun
1
A group or set of three closely related people or things.
"The report focused on the triad of housing, healthcare, and education."
2
(music) A chord made up of three notes: a root note plus the third and fifth above it.
"The song opens with a simple major triad."
3
A Chinese organized-crime society, historically based in Hong Kong.
"The film dramatizes conflict between rival triads."
How to Use Triad
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA set of three related things, a three-note musical chord, or (capitalized in context) a Chinese crime organization.
Common pairings
major triad
a triad of factors
Word Forms
triads plural
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Etymology
From Latin trias, ultimately from Greek trias, "a group of three." The criminal-society sense comes from British colonial officials in Hong Kong naming underground societies after a triangular symbol some of them used.